What is a Constellation?
If you look at the stars in the night sky long enough, you will notice how groups of stars form familiar objects,
something like connect-the-dots pictures. Many centuries ago, people who gazed at the stars noticed pictures out
there too—88 in total—and gave names to them. This helped them make a “map” of the night sky and made it
easier to locate the stars.
But these figures are not really sitting out there in space. They are only imaginary patterns created by the relative
positions of the stars as we see them from Earth. Some stars that appear to be right next to each other are in fact
very far apart. They just look close together from where we are looking at them on Earth. If you could somehow
see the same night sky from another part of the galaxy, the relative positions of the stars would be completely
different and you would be able to discover totally new constellations.
The Star Sphere
The star sphere is a replica in miniature of the largest and brightest objects in space surrounding our planet.
If you were to put Earth in the sphere, it would be located at the exact center, where the light bulb is. The dots
printed on the sphere represent stars. The glow-in-the dark dots represent the brightest, easiest-to-find stars. The
lines connecting the stars show the constellations.
About 99% of visible stars like those on the star sphere are in the solar neighborhood. That means they are
within about 100 light-years of Earth. This is nearby, compared to the other stars in the spiral arm of our
galaxy where our solar system is located. A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year, which is about
6,000,000,000,000 (6 trillion) miles (or 9,500,000,000,000 kilometers)!
Assembly and Operation
Installing Batteries for the Light Wand
1. First remove the horizon ring and then remove light wand from base (see Fig. 1).
2. With a small Phillips head screwdriver, remove the screw on the battery cap. Unscrew battery cap
located at the end of wand. Gently shake the wand so that the battery module slides out (see Fig. 2).
3. Insert three (3) AA batteries into battery module, making sure the “+” and “-” ends are in correct placement
as indicated (see Fig. 3). Alkaline batteries are recommended.
4. Insert battery module into light wand, making sure the grooves align (see Fig. 4).
Replace battery cap and Phillips head screw (do not over-tighten). Place the light wand back into base.
Installing Batteries for the Night-light
1. Turn Star Planetarium 3.0 on its side and, using a small phillips head screwdriver,
remove the battery cover.
2. Insert three (3) “AAA” batteries. Make sure the “+” and “-” ends are inserted
correctly, as indicated (see Fig. 5).
3. Replace battery cover.
Operating your Planetarium
1. Place your planetarium on a table in the center of the room. A room with smooth,
light colored walls and ceiling works best. A room that is roughly square and no
larger than 12 x 12 feet provides the best projection quality. Star Theater works best when it is located one to
six feet from the projection surface.
2. Rotate your planetarium so that N (north) on compass lines up with the raised dot. This allows your planetarium
to project the stars in the same directional orientation as they are in the real night sky outside.
Your planetarium projects stars that are visible from Earth’s Northern Hemisphere, including North and Central
America, Hawaii, Europe, Russia, Asia, northern Africa, and the Middle East.
Setting the Date and Time
You can set your planetarium to project the night sky for any date and hour. You can easily adjust your planetarium
for any date you wish: your birthday, a holiday, the final day of school, last Thursday, or any other date. Here is how:
1. Setting the date: With projection lamp off, turn light wand until the month you want lines up with the arrow on
date selector. Below the month, there are markings indicating the 1st, 10th and 20th of the month. Turn light
wand to the left (so that star sphere turns to the west) until the date you want lines up with the pointer. For
example, if you want to project the night sky the way it is on July 4, first select July, then turn further to the left,
to just past the mark for the 1st day of the month.
2. Setting the time: Once you have selected the month and date, rotate the time ring—without turning the
light wand—so that the time at which the sun sets lines up with the pointer. (The time at sunset is usually
published in the local newspaper or can be found on-line.) Now turn the light wand to the exact time you want.
(Don’t worry that the months and dates are changing on the date selector as you are adjusting the time; once
you’ve selected the date and set the time ring for sunset, the time selection function takes over.) You can set
your planetarium to project the stars for any time of the night. You can even see what stars are up during the
day, when they are not visible.
Close window drapes or blinds. Turn on projection lamp. (Do not look directly at the star sphere while its light is
on, or you will lose your dark adaptation.)
Align
Battery
Module
with
groove
Fig. 4
Fig. 3
Battery
Module
Battery
Cap
Fig. 2
Battery Cap
Screw
Fig. 1
Horizon Ring
Night
Light
Fig. 5
Night
light
On/O
